by Claire Davon
December 3, 2019
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Print Length: 209 pages
Euryale will never forget the day the gods turned her into a monster. After millennia, her heart beats faster at the idea of regaining her normal form. For the feel of skin and not scales, hair and not snakes. But the price could be too high.
Knowing full well the gods can’t be trusted, Euryale agrees to take on a reluctant partner to track down whoever is murdering a growing number of gods. A murderer no one cared about until the killings edged uncomfortably close to bigger and bigger pantheons. Tracking the murderers down is the price she has to pay for her newly restored form—and that of her two equally cursed sisters.
Asher’s unusual gift for eerily horrific sound effects make him a highly sought-after voiceover artist. While he keeps a low profile, there has always been a ticking time bomb in the form of the bargain between his banshee mother and his father, the god Ares. It’s time to pay up—or pay with his life.
As Euryale and Asher dance around their mutual mistrust, the friction ignites a fire of unexpected attraction. But love is almost as impossible as the dangerous task ahead. Because even if the murderers don’t stab them in the back, the fickle gods certainly will.
Excerpt #3
Harmonia’s attention was directed to where the din was coming from. “You would think that, monster. We are not responsible for this. You have brought this blight to the island. How dare you?”
Aphrodite rose, still having every appearance of being unconcerned. The clamor grew until it was a shriek, and Asher couldn’t imagine how Aphrodite could stand it. Even he, a banshee, was having trouble.
Harmonia whirled around. The source of the sound came from the bottom of the cliff. Asher ran to Euryale’s side. She was still in a defensive crouch, her perception focused on the sand below. Around them the day was warm and breezy, but the racket dominated everything.
Aphrodite patted her lips and gestured to her daughter. Harmonia made a strangled noise and then crumpled.
The noise continued to rise.
“I’ll be right back,” Euryale said, and without another word, plunged off the cliff.
Asher’s attention was split between the heartbreaking image of his woman plunging to the bottom, and his collapsed half-sister. As he watched, Euryale landed, and then was once again on her feet. It was then that he remembered one of her Gorgon talents was the ability to leap. He always believed that meant up and not down, but now he stood corrected.
Aphrodite summoned a waiter, and they pushed Harmonia onto a makeshift couch strung together with two chairs. The other patrons in the restaurant had given up any pretense of their conversations and watched the trio with avid interest. He had no time to wonder what they were thinking of Euryale’s nosedive to the bottom of the cliff. He would worry about that in a moment. First, he turned to Aphrodite. She was patting her daughter’s face with a wet cloth, her face still serene. No frown lines or imperfections marked her beautiful visage, but he detected a momentary flicker of concern.
“I have to get down to Euryale,” he said, and Aphrodite glanced up. Now, pain flew across her face before it was gone, shuttered by a sanguine gaze that had to be a façade.
“Your Gorgon does not expect you to follow,” the goddess replied. “She is far more experienced in this than you are.”
“Nevertheless, I have to go down to her. Is Harmonia…will she be…what happened?”
“It is unclear. I believe your adversaries are taunting you.”
He coughed, anger starting to flare within him. “They’re your adversaries, too.”
“This task was given to you, banshee. Do you not understand? This is your mission to complete. Our lives are at risk and so is yours if you do not do what is needed. These gods who think they can murder us must be stopped, and you must do it.”
He paused. “Gods?”
She waved a hand toward the cliff face. “Only a god can kill a god. Why else would Athena bring a goddess into this? Did you ever wonder why your talents were needed? These criminals have the same skill set as you do, and therefore you are suited to combat them. Your Gorgon is down there wanting to take action, but she will not find your opponents. This is a mere way-stop. A pause in the proceedings, if you will.”
He scanned the prone Harmonia. As he studied his half-sister, the sound cut off.
Aphrodite rose, barely glancing at her handmaiden. Asher would have been appalled at the lack of empathy before this quest, but she was a goddess. Compassion was not part of the package.
“There. It has ceased. You must move to your next destination and end this. Or everything you have struggled for will be for nothing.”
“Next destination…” There was something else detectable in Asher’s blasted ears, a trickle of sound that rose to a torrent.
“…come…come…we are waiting…”
Harmonia’s attention was directed to where the din was coming from. “You would think that, monster. We are not responsible for this. You have brought this blight to the island. How dare you?”
Aphrodite rose, still having every appearance of being unconcerned. The clamor grew until it was a shriek, and Asher couldn’t imagine how Aphrodite could stand it. Even he, a banshee, was having trouble.
Harmonia whirled around. The source of the sound came from the bottom of the cliff. Asher ran to Euryale’s side. She was still in a defensive crouch, her perception focused on the sand below. Around them the day was warm and breezy, but the racket dominated everything.
Aphrodite patted her lips and gestured to her daughter. Harmonia made a strangled noise and then crumpled.
The noise continued to rise.
“I’ll be right back,” Euryale said, and without another word, plunged off the cliff.
Asher’s attention was split between the heartbreaking image of his woman plunging to the bottom, and his collapsed half-sister. As he watched, Euryale landed, and then was once again on her feet. It was then that he remembered one of her Gorgon talents was the ability to leap. He always believed that meant up and not down, but now he stood corrected.
Aphrodite summoned a waiter, and they pushed Harmonia onto a makeshift couch strung together with two chairs. The other patrons in the restaurant had given up any pretense of their conversations and watched the trio with avid interest. He had no time to wonder what they were thinking of Euryale’s nosedive to the bottom of the cliff. He would worry about that in a moment. First, he turned to Aphrodite. She was patting her daughter’s face with a wet cloth, her face still serene. No frown lines or imperfections marked her beautiful visage, but he detected a momentary flicker of concern.
“I have to get down to Euryale,” he said, and Aphrodite glanced up. Now, pain flew across her face before it was gone, shuttered by a sanguine gaze that had to be a façade.
“Your Gorgon does not expect you to follow,” the goddess replied. “She is far more experienced in this than you are.”
“Nevertheless, I have to go down to her. Is Harmonia…will she be…what happened?”
“It is unclear. I believe your adversaries are taunting you.”
He coughed, anger starting to flare within him. “They’re your adversaries, too.”
“This task was given to you, banshee. Do you not understand? This is your mission to complete. Our lives are at risk and so is yours if you do not do what is needed. These gods who think they can murder us must be stopped, and you must do it.”
He paused. “Gods?”
She waved a hand toward the cliff face. “Only a god can kill a god. Why else would Athena bring a goddess into this? Did you ever wonder why your talents were needed? These criminals have the same skill set as you do, and therefore you are suited to combat them. Your Gorgon is down there wanting to take action, but she will not find your opponents. This is a mere way-stop. A pause in the proceedings, if you will.”
He scanned the prone Harmonia. As he studied his half-sister, the sound cut off.
Aphrodite rose, barely glancing at her handmaiden. Asher would have been appalled at the lack of empathy before this quest, but she was a goddess. Compassion was not part of the package.
“There. It has ceased. You must move to your next destination and end this. Or everything you have struggled for will be for nothing.”
“Next destination…” There was something else detectable in Asher’s blasted ears, a trickle of sound that rose to a torrent.
“…come…come…we are waiting…”
About the Author:
Claire can’t remember a time when writing wasn’t part of her life. Growing up, she used to write stories with her friends. As a teenager she started out reading fantasy and science fiction, but her diet quickly changed to romance and happily-ever-after’s. A native of Massachusetts and cold weather, she left all that behind to move to the sun and fun of California, but has always lived no more than twenty miles from the ocean.
In college she studied acting with a minor in creative writing. In hindsight she should have flipped course studies. Before she was published, she sold books on eBay and discovered some of her favorite authors by sampling the goods, which was the perfect solution. Claire has many book-irons in the fire, most notably her urban fantasy series, The Elementals’ Challenge series, but writes contemporary and shifter romances as well as.
While she’s not a movie mogul or actor, she does work in the film industry with her office firmly situated in the 90210 district of Hollywood. Prone to break out into song, she is quick on feet and just as quick with snappy dialogue. In addition to writing she does animal rescue, reads, and goes to movies. She loves to hear from fans, so feel free to drop her a line.
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